Macro Photography Advice

donkeymusic

donkeymusic

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Carlo
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Hello

i have purchased a new Macro lens and was looking to take photos of insects, plants etc. I have been able to get really close up items like a coin or even a bank note yet when i try to photograph a fly, i cant seem to get the close up to show any detail and it still looks like its has been taken with a standard lens.

Any ideas on how i can achieve the photos that i want?

thanks for any advice.
 
Flies are tricky little things! Staying still is probably your best bet, they see any movement and they're off like a shot before you can get near them! Try some bees, they're often a bit slower, and I think make nicer subject anyway :D !

Macro photography is HARD, to be honest there's not much you can do but practice!

Chris
 
Raikiri said:
You haven't provided much detail, which lens/camera? Could you post some examples?
Click to expand...

Hello i am using a Sony A300 with a Tamron 90mm macro lens

i will have a look at what i ahve taken so far and post some examples.
 
chris321 said:
Flies are tricky little things! Staying still is probably your best bet, they see any movement and they're off like a shot before you can get near them! Try some bees, they're often a bit slower, and I think make nicer subject anyway :D !

Macro photography is HARD, to be honest there's not much you can do but practice!

Chris
Click to expand...

its odd because i have taken close up shots of money and my watch and can get right in close and its look great, happy with that but when it comes to the insects, now i am aware that they would fly off so to start with i hav found a few dead ones to use, so i can practice, but just dont seem to be able to close in enough, now i have been mad busy this week and not had a proper chance to play so over the weekend i intend to try and get have a few hours with dead flies and my camera.

But any other advice would be much appreciated.

thanks
 
Plenty of light - put your dead fly in the sun. Aperture priority at f11 to get some depth of field. Maximum magnification is usually at the minimum focal distance ie as close as it will focus to. Forget about Auto Focus. Manual focus to the distance you want then move the camera to actually get the subject sharp.
 
Hi Donkeymusic,

I am in a similar postion to you. I struggle to get the focussing spot on.
I tried shooting live bugs but as my technique is most definitely in the beginner category I reverted to shooting dead bugs in a home made macro studio.

To follow on from the good advice from all, but in particular RobertP's advice, I set the camera to it's maximum focussing distance and then alter the physical distance of the camera to the subject. It works quite well. I have even reverted to cheating to shooting lots of pictures as I move......perhaps it's time I got glasses! :)

I am not sure of exactly how close up you are trying to get but I also quite like the 'microscopic-like' level of detail.

Macro is my favourite, bar known, form of photography as it is such a challenge. Like has been said previously, keep practicising and accept the helpful criticism of some experts on this site. By that I am not saying that you aren't already!

Please check out my home made studio and example pictures here:
http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=148962

There are of course some much better pictures than mine - self confessed beginner, but it gives you an idea.

Good luck and please post examples - no doubt we can all learn something....particulary me!

Bees are a great idea as they are often quite slow...even with these guys I am never happy with the results.

Cheers

Osmo

PS I can't remeber the specific camera settings but my shots were taken with a Nikon D300, 105mm VR macro lens plus the full stack of Kenko extension tubes.
 
donkeymusic said:
Hello i am using a Sony A300 with a Tamron 90mm macro lens

i will have a look at what i ahve taken so far and post some examples.
Click to expand...

Similar set up to me then, I have a 400D and Tamron 90mm :)

As has been said, use manual focus and set the lens to maximum magnification (fully extended), make sure the focus limit switch is turned off. Use f/7.1 to f/11 for increased DOF.

If you aren't using a flash you need a lot of light in order to get a high enough shutter.

These were taken at 1/320s, f7.1, ISO 800

i3i2pf.jpg


2eq5hc5.jpg


Hope that helps :)
 
Personally i always shoot manual for macro - set the lens to manual focus and the camera body to manual if youve got a flash stick it on - if not pop the built in flash, (the more light the better) start at ISO 200, f11, 1/160" set the lens to it closest focus setting and try taking some shots if there too dark increase the ISO or if there to bright try altering the shutter / Aperture (upto @ f16) . To focus move the camera closer / further away from the subject, if you adjust the focus using the lens you are effectivly altering the magnification.
 
Raikiri said:
Similar set up to me then, I have a 400D and Tamron 90mm :)

As has been said, use manual focus and set the lens to maximum magnification (fully extended), make sure the focus limit switch is turned off. Use f/7.1 to f/11 for increase the DOF.

If you aren't using a flash you need a lot of light in order to get a high enough shutter.

These were taken at 1/320s, f7.1, ISO 800

Hope that helps :)
Click to expand...

tried pretty much the same settings that you suggested, not sure wht it works on other objects but as soon as i go to an insect it doesnt seem to work, this weekend i will give it a whirl:geek:

great photos

cheers
 
had the macro lens on and tried a few shots but the insect one i could not get close enough, any ideas?

how do i post images so i can show examples?

cheers
 
cheers here a few photos

DSC05070.jpg


DSC05102.jpg


DSC05103.jpg


DSC05137.jpg


which are able for me to focus close up yet the following fly isnt

DSC05111.jpg
 
as said...plenty of light is your best friend.colin(hacker)posted a pic of his flash setup which i've now used to good effect....just a nomal hotshoe mounted type flash,but velcro'd on top of the lens so as to get plenty of light on your subject.you will need to get a decent shutter speed at say,F/11(1/200th)to freeze the subject,and as said...use manual focus for best results,and.......practice,practiceand practice!!
 
I can see your problem in the images EXIF data straight away, using f2.8 when starting out is going to give you these results. F2.8 gives you a very shallow depth of field, with only a small area in focus. Try for F8 - F11 initially and you will see more of your subject in focus.
After that its practic, practice, practice.
 
donkeymusic said:
which are able for me to focus close up yet the following fly isnt

DSC05111.jpg
Click to expand...

That's (mostly) not an issue with focus, you shot that at 1/20s. With a 90mm lens on a crop body you would want to shoot at 1/125s or faster in normal situation, with macro where the smallest of movement can make a big difference you basically want to double that.

Also, you shot at f2.8 which means a tiny depth of field. Shooting a 3D object is a bit different to a flat surface like a note or watch face, you need a greater DOF.

donkeymusic said:
tried pretty much the same settings that you suggested, not sure wht it works on other objects but as soon as i go to an insect it doesnt seem to work, this weekend i will give it a whirl:geek:

great photos

cheers
Click to expand...

I said use f7.1 and 1/320s, not f2.8 and 1/20s! Go outside and shoot where you have enough light.

Here's another, f4.5 / 1/350s, ISO800 (quite poor lighting, hence the low f/stop)
zuha8h.jpg
 
The fly shot is a prime example of why you need a flash! At f/2.8, there was so little light that a shutter speed of 1/20 was required. You need to get the shutter speed down as far as possibly, and make the aperture significantly smaller as well. Both of these effects drastically reduce the amount of light the sensor gets, meaning you need to provide your own! :)
 
Get a ring flash if you can. If you can't, use a plastic milk bottle to get light to the end of the lens. If you have a flash gun get that off camera if you have a transmitter or cord.

It's all about light really, macro needs a small aperture, you'll be stuffed without it.

Get a shutter speed of 1/100 minimum and I wouldn't go any lower than f/8 as absolute minumum if you have no flash.

light light light...
 
zarozinia said:
I can see your problem in the images EXIF data straight away, using f2.8 when starting out is going to give you these results. F2.8 gives you a very shallow depth of field, with only a small area in focus. Try for F8 - F11 initially and you will see more of your subject in focus.
After that its practic, practice, practice.
Click to expand...

I am aware that i was using a shallow depth of field, but didnt have chance to mess around with the settings, hopefully tonight i can get a setup going. i have a small studio tent thing with lights which i thought i could set up so that i can play around with settings.
 
Raikiri said:
That's (mostly) not an issue with focus, you shot that at 1/20s. With a 90mm lens on a crop body you would want to shoot at 1/125s or faster in normal situation, with macro where the smallest of movement can make a big difference you basically want to double that.

Also, you shot at f2.8 which means a tiny depth of field. Shooting a 3D object is a bit different to a flat surface like a note or watch face, you need a greater DOF.



I said use f7.1 and 1/320s, not f2.8 and 1/20s! Go outside and shoot where you have enough light.

Here's another, f4.5 / 1/350s, ISO800 (quite poor lighting, hence the low f/stop)
Click to expand...

i was using aperture priority so was using the shutter speed the camera suggested that is why it is what was. So would it be better to shoot in shutter priority mode? thanks
 
chris321 said:
The fly shot is a prime example of why you need a flash! At f/2.8, there was so little light that a shutter speed of 1/20 was required. You need to get the shutter speed down as far as possibly, and make the aperture significantly smaller as well. Both of these effects drastically reduce the amount of light the sensor gets, meaning you need to provide your own! :)
Click to expand...


i understand that but what dont understand is why i was able to manually focus close up on the other items yet the fly which was next to them, i couldnt?
 
just seen an ad on ebay for a continuous macro ring light

would this help out or am i better with a ring flash.

is there anything i can do with my flash gun?
 
donkeymusic said:
i was using aperture priority so was using the shutter speed the camera suggested that is why it is what was. So would it be better to shoot in shutter priority mode? thanks
Click to expand...

I would suggest full manual however AV (aperature priority) works ok if and only if there is a lot of light or you bump that ISO up. Had you used 800ISO that shot would have been 1/160s instead of 1/20s.

Even with the motion blur you can see the area that's in focus just in front of the fly.

donkeymusic said:
i understand that but what dont understand is why i was able to manually focus close up on the other items yet the fly which was next to them, i couldnt?
Click to expand...

You did, but the other shots used different settings. The Tamron manual was shot at 1/125s, the watch dial was 1/2500s and the watch face was 1/640s.

The only one with a slow shutter is the note, I imagine you were leaning on something or simply got lucky with that one, 99% of the time 1/20s shots will be a blurry mess.

donkeymusic said:
is there anything i can do with my flash gun?
Click to expand...

Yep, use it if there isn't enough light to shoot without.
 
set up a studio lamp and pointed it at the fly, but still seemed to struggle to zoom in on the fly, yet as stated i can zoom into other objects.

wanna try and get the hang of it before i venture into the garden to chase live insects,

but my flash was broke so didnt have chance to use that.

any more suggestions
 
How close are you to the fly? If it's only a little one, it may be that you're too close to it, and it can't focus close enough? Try setting it to manual, set the lens to focussing at the closest distance, and move forward and back till it's in focus. That's the minimum focus distance (probably around 30cm?), and if you're closer you just won't be able to focus! (Sorry if this is stuff you already know!)

Chris
 
chris321 said:
How close are you to the fly? If it's only a little one, it may be that you're too close to it, and it can't focus close enough? Try setting it to manual, set the lens to focussing at the closest distance, and move forward and back till it's in focus. That's the minimum focus distance (probably around 30cm?), and if you're closer you just won't be able to focus! (Sorry if this is stuff you already know!)

Chris
Click to expand...

i think maybe i am too close and have the lens totally zoomed out, so the fly isnt looking very big
 
I'm really not sure what you mean when you say you can't zoom in (it's a prime lens), in the picture you posted you can quite clearly see the focal plane (the area which is in focus).

Also, the lens has a max magnification of 1:1 and a minimum working distance of about 11cm. How big is the fly?
 
Raikiri said:
I'm really not sure what you mean when you say you can't zoom in (it's a prime lens), in the picture you posted you can quite clearly see the focal plane (the area which is in focus).

Also, the lens has a max magnification of 1:1 and a minimum working distance of about 11cm. How big is the fly?
Click to expand...

Hi

i may be amiss on some of the correct terminology for describing the situation.

well with the say the queens head on the bank note i was able to focus right in on the eyes and very close up yet when i try on a fly i get the not closed than the example shown. that is what i was trying to say when i said i cant zoom in.

What do you mean by a 'prime lens'?

the fly is no bigger than 1 cm.

thanks
 
Macro takes a while to learn. Even when you do get the hang of it you soon realise others are so much better at it than you are :)

Just keep practising. Plenty of light and manual focussing by getting the focus setting somewhere near the distance of the subject then moving the camera to get good focus are the keys.
 
well i managed to get a few close ups as a first attempt but as soon as i went for a fly it went pear shaped and not sure why cos i was using the same set up, not had chance to go outside into the garden to try it in natural light

may get chance tomorrow or tuesday so will post any results for further advice, cheers
 
donkeymusic said:
the fly is no bigger than 1 cm.
Click to expand...

Which is the problem, the lens will only go to 1:1 which is an area no smaller than 23.6x15.8mm.

If the fly is less than 10mm x 5mm it won't even fill half of the frame.

Hopefully this picture will help explain, this is at max magnification with this lens; 1:1 ratio.

2mzgnr5.jpg


103pix not mm, can't be bothered to fix it now.

22.2x14.8 is the area it can cover on my camera, 4.5mm x 3.26mm is roughly the size of the bug. I cannot get closer than that without tubes/filters.
 
i know the fly is dead, but make sure you dont breath on him as it will cause motion blur:)
 
Raikiri said:
Which is the problem, the lens will only go to 1:1 which is an area no smaller than 23.6x15.8mm.

If the fly is less than 10mm x 5mm it won't even fill half of the frame.

Hopefully this picture will help explain, this is at max magnification with this lens; 1:1 ratio.

2mzgnr5.jpg


103pix not mm, can't be bothered to fix it now.

22.2x14.8 is the area it can cover on my camera, 4.5mm x 3.26mm is roughly the size of the bug. I cannot get closer than that without tubes/filters.
Click to expand...

Hi yes is it does in a way but why when an area of only 1 cm on a bank note does that appear a lot more magnified? and others that post fly photos are showing 1:1 or using non macro lenses and still getting closer in than mine?

thanks for your help
 
It can't be 1x1cm on the bank note and other people would likely crop the photos, I quite often do.
 
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